I Am Louis XIV

If Louis XIV had not taken the whims of bringing 15,000 armed soldiers to escort his eldest princess to Malmö, according to tradition, Karl XI should have waited in Stockholm for the wedding envoy to take the eldest princess to the old palace, and then in Wedding in Saint Nicholas Cathedral.

But when Louis XIV's chariot appeared in Amsterdam, Carl XI debated with his mother, ministers, and members of Congress whether he should go to see the King of France. Unknown whether it was intentional or not, the latter had attended the meeting with Carl XI. It caused many omissions and mistakes in the education of this generation, but it also made the young Karl XI develop a somewhat withdrawn but stubborn character. He had a big quarrel with everyone - if he was still the boy who had just grown up. , maybe he really had to succumb to their chattering, but Karl XI led an army of tens of thousands to fight the Danes and won.

He always kept in mind what the eldest princess said to him. In this world, the tongue will never be sharper than the sword. When he was in Paris and Versailles, he also heard many things about King Louis XIV of France. Louis XIV and He has many similarities. He lost his father when he was young, and was regent by his mother and important ministers. He can completely imitate and refer to the path Louis XIV once walked - the Queen Mother Anne of France and Bishop Mazarin are compared to his mother. Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp loved the king more and was better able to control her greed. Even so, Louis XIV was revealed to everyone because his army defeated With the arrival of Vicomte Turenne, people had only seen their little king for the first time.

With this idea in mind, after returning to Stockholm, Karl XI tried his best to build an army of his own. Needless to say, the difficulties involved were difficult. The enemy he had to face was once the enemy he relied on most. Relatives and friends, but he would rather borrow a loan from a French banker to take the first step - he succeeded. A young king with no ability and mediocre temperament was completely different from a young king who had defeated his old enemy. He finally succeeded in The court has its own supporters.

Now, he also needs a powerful helper to take charge of his court to replace the Queen Mother Eleonora, so that he will not be restricted by many parties.

Of course, that person is only the eldest princess of France, Elizabeth. He loves her not only because of her beauty, nor because of her dowry, but also because she has received a systematic and good education, and her talents and vision are not as good as those of princes and dukes. Under this, she will not only be the mother of his son, but also his right-hand man and even his safe haven. Since he has such expectations, he will not treat his wife coldly or simply ignore her like other kings and princes.

Taking advantage of the power of his previous victory, he persuaded his mother and ministers rather than convincing him. Instead of riding in a carriage, he rode horses day and night to Malmö. He was so eager and had no choice. Although he didn't need to Welcoming the bride, but he needs to visit and comfort the eldest princess with gifts (usually expensive jewelry) on the first night she arrives in Stockholm. If he does not do this, it means that he does not have much consideration and respect for the new queen. Due to the situation, some people will inevitably make trouble again.

When he rushed to Malmö, the lights were already high. Karl XI didn't know whether he should ask for an audience, but before his envoy set out, Louis XIV's envoy arrived. Karl XI saw him He passed by Count d'Artagnan, a playboy who always smiled but was feared by many people. After bowing and arrogantly playing with his hat, he asked Charles XI on behalf of the king: "Do you need a rest? Or can you still support it? If you can, come to my room and see me."

This casual tone and attitude suddenly brought Karl XI back to a few years ago. He nodded to the count, indicating that he could support it, and immediately went to see the king. After the count left, he hurriedly After wiping his face and hair, changing his clothes, and taking the most trustworthy attendants with him, he came to the Malmö Castle where the king was temporarily staying.

This fourteenth-century castle was not very comfortable. An offensive and defensive battle had been fought here not long ago. Karl XI was very familiar with it - he even remembered how a soldier fell from the wall to the ground and broke his brain. But at this time, for a king, a castle is always the most suitable palace. It can accommodate enough people, has water sources, fortifications, and necessary ancillary buildings such as warehouses.

As soon as he entered the door, he smelled the aroma of coffee. Swedes have not been drinking coffee for a long time, but after trying this refreshing drink, they can no longer put it down - because Sweden is located in such a remote location. It's too bad. They are located in the northernmost part of Europa. There are no more than four hours of sunshine for eight months of the year. The sunrise can only be seen from 10 to 11 in the morning, and it sinks again at 3 or 4 in the afternoon... …Modern people all know that natural light is closely related to people’s natural rhythms, mainly the mutual regulation of sleep and digestive functions, and can also affect people’s emotions. People in the 17th century may not have understood this, but they also knew that they were drowsy all day long. Being sleepy is not a good thing.

Coffee helps them stay awake when they should be working, making it the Swedes' favorite drink.

The pot of black coffee given by Buntang was very strong, thick and bitter according to Swedish custom. After Karl XI saluted Louis XIV, he immediately picked it up and took a few sips, and the hot and thick liquid flowed into him. It brought a chill to my stomach.

"It's still so cold here." Louis XIV said. Compared with the warm Paris and Versailles, the temperature in Sweden is really not flattering.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"This is Malmo, the southernmost part of Sweden. Stockholm will be even colder." Louis looked at him: "Can I call you Karl?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Carl XI said. This was not a public occasion. Although he was the king of Sweden, the person in front of him was also half his teacher and father-in-law.

"So Karl," Louis said gently, "you know, I just picked the most beautiful rose in my garden a few days ago and sent it here. I looked at this piece of ice and snow, worried in my heart, not knowing it. Can you get used to this strange country, can you grow roots, spread leaves, bloom flowers and bear fruits here?"

"The rose is beautiful, but it is not a soft flower," said Karl XI. "She has sharp thorns and strong stems - and I, Your Majesty, I swear to you, your roses will bloom in Stockholm. Give it a more moving brilliance.”

"Elizabeth should have told you that words are the most empty and pale things," Louis said, "but they can soothe the heart. I have written down your promise, Karl."

He glanced at Karl XI.

"It's a long night, let's have a chat and talk about something I want to tell you." Louis moved his body to make himself sit more comfortably. He was used to it no matter where he went, whether it was fighting or getting married. , Bontan would take great care to bring his furniture and bathtub - the Versailles chairs had been covered with satin and lined with goose down on the seat cushions, backrests and armrests from a long time ago, and these two chairs were extraordinarily wide. , Bontang brought a blanket and gave one to each of the two kings.

"A king must marry a princess," Louis began with this sentence: "No, don't talk about the king, even if a nobleman acts willfully and marries a lowly woman as his wife, he will still be deprived of his right to inherit, even Excluded by the entire court. Therefore, I think you also know very well that your future marriage will definitely not be out of pure love as described in legends or dramas."

"My situation," he continued, "is different from other kings. My boyhood was spent in displacement and fear."

"Yes," Karl XI said with admiration: "You are a man born great." Although his mother and the regent had their own ideas, which caused his lack of education, he could at least still be in the palace in Stockholm. He grew up peacefully without suffering any hardships, but Louis XIV was different. His enemies could not hide his current glory, so they took out his gloomy boyhood to laugh. They said that Louis XIV’s mother, Queen Anne The Queen Mother once made a living by pawning jewelry; they said that Louis XIV once hung out with the homeless and even planted potatoes himself; they said that the current Duchess of Orleans took refuge with Louis XIV's Princess Henrietta He even almost died from fever without medical treatment...

But to the ears of a smart man like Carl XI, such difficulties can actually bring out Louis XIV's extraordinary rationality and tenacity. It is like a little light in the darkness that is most easily remembered. To be able to break away from such a dangerous and embarrassing situation and create such a considerable career, his character and courage have long surpassed those poor people who can only talk and talk.

"You see, I didn't agree on my marriage until I was twenty-two years old. As the king of France, my choice was very narrow. In the end, as you know, Princess Teresa of Spain became my wife. She is the same age as me." Louis stared at the fire in the fireplace and recalled his thoughts at the time: "France and England were once enemies, as were Bourbon and Habsburg. We were at odds with each other, constantly looking for opportunities to destroy each other. , but had to intermarry with each other because we had no choice - at that time, my ministers kept recommending beautiful ladies to me," he smiled at Karl XI, who was a little embarrassed because His ministers also did the same: "I can understand them, because there is almost no possibility of peace between us and Spain and the Habsburgs. My wife is a Spanish princess. If she marries over, she can get me." My love made me ignore the threat of Habsburg because of this love, and France would be in catastrophe. But..."

He turned slightly: "But I am also confused at the same time, because once Princess Teresa becomes my wife, she will be the person closest to me. None of my closest friends and relatives can reach the level of me and her. I Having children with her and staying with her until old age - I have seen how my mother spent the first half of her life in pain, and she was also a Spanish princess - do I want this tragedy to continue?"

"I want to change." Louis continued: "I wrote her a letter, hoping that she could learn French as soon as possible and introduce her to the people and situations in the Louvre. Of course, it was only very rough, because there must be someone Open my letter - I think if she still has her own self and ability to think, she will definitely understand." He looked at Karl XI: "That is, no matter what others say or do, her husband does not want her to She and he are enemies."

"I hope so too," said Karl XI.

"There is no parent who does not love his children, but sometimes kings are the exception," said Louis. "Some people say that there are three kinds of people in the world, one kind of men, one kind of women, and one kind of kings," Karl XI Smiling, Louis continued: "I'm not surprised at all. Philip IV will definitely teach his daughter that even if she gets married, she must stand firmly on the side of Spain and remember that she is a Spanish princess, not France. Queen, but how could such a thing happen? Karl, a girl became the wife of a man, had children with him, and will eventually go to the grave together. So what about the short dozen years she spent in her mother country? How does it compare to the next few decades?”

"Unless one kind of torture replaces another kind of torture, one kind of pain is better than another kind of pain." Louis said: "So, on the wedding night, after everyone left our bedroom, I said to the special Lesa said, don't worry about Spain or France, just look at me. I will respect you, protect you, and fulfill the duties of a husband, and you just need to repay me. Guess then Trey How will Sha answer me?"

"May I know?" Karl XI asked a little shyly.

"You can know," Louis said, "Elizabeth is not just my child - Teresa said that a person who is used to suffering does not care about suffering more, but if he tastes the sweetness, he will She couldn't bear the pain anymore. Then I told her that if I broke my promise, she could retaliate against me as much as she wanted."

Karl XI didn't know what to say for a while.

"Don't think that she really can't do anything." Louis XIV said: "The anger that a noble lady can burst out after being deceived is enough to burn down the entire kingdom."

"But why would you make such a promise?"

"Because husband and wife are one body." Louis said: "Your marriage to Elizabeth is a covenant between France and Sweden, but at the same time, it is also a sacred contract. When you hold hands together and swear to God, it is also a covenant. The descendants of Adam and Eve are not just kings and queens. Although you are not related by blood, you have to create a new bloodline - that is Palatine Knight-Zweibrücken (the Swedish dynasty founded by Karl X) With bourbon.”

"What do you want me to do? I love Elizabeth, but I need your guidance." Carl XI whispered.

"I will not make promises to you or say ridiculous things. For example, the French will not hope that my eldest princess can exert influence on you and make Sweden a vassal of France. Let alone the Swedes, even you will not You will believe it."

Karl hesitated, "Yes," he confessed: "I don't believe it." He and Louis XIV were both kings, and they knew that any personal emotions could not be compared with the interests of the country.

"But this concern," Louis XIV said, "may be further than you imagine. As a king, you have a problem, that is, you are destined to be against your ministers and princes. From your father Charles In the tenth generation, he deliberately began to consolidate the royal property and territory lost from Gustav II and Queen Christina. At that time, in order to stabilize their rule, they had no scruples in canonizing nobles and rewarding fiefdoms. Now the Swedish royal family What was his income? A third of what it was under Gustavus I, or less?”

You've been systematically building and expanding the standing army, building warships, and promoting low- and mid-level officials, which is great, but those people, you know the people I'm referring to, they probably won't just hang around. How many members of Congress do you think will? Obey your orders? Your every move is under their prying eyes - Karl, only a few kings die at a healthy age. Most kings either die from villains or from traitors.

And worst of all, your mother, the Queen Mother, and you never saw eye to eye, your chancellor, Duke Oxenschene, was close to her, and the court and its nobles were only more inclined to be willing to abide by the old rules of them instead of you.

Is there anyone else around you who you can trust unconditionally? Only your wife. "

Louis continued quickly, "I am willing to make a promise to my queen. At first, it was just out of pity. I thought my wife should get my respect, but later, I discovered that a wife with loyalty and love , how much strength and help it can bring to her husband... Karl, although I am the Sun King now and the master of France, if one day I lose everything, then there will only be Theresa standing by my side. , because we swore an oath together in front of God, her brilliance only comes from me, not from her father. When people see her, they will only say that she is the wife of the King of France and the mother of the King of France, but they do not I would say she is a Spanish princess."

"Just like Elizabeth." Carl XI murmured.

"Just like Elizabeth," Louis said: "The difficulties you will face are no less than those of me. Although I don't want to admit it, Elizabeth will be your wife soon. I hope that you can be like Theresa and I. , helping each other instead of hating each other as they expected - because," he leaned forward and threw a piece of firewood into the fireplace: "For the nobles, the king may be their real enemy, and the queen is coercing The power of the mother's family can be a help or a hindrance to the king, how do you think they will choose?"

"I choose to be like you and Queen Theresa." Karl XI may have been a little afraid of marriage and the queen at the beginning, but now he is no longer hesitant.

"As for France and Sweden," Louis took the coffee and took a sip: "Now I want to talk to you as a king, sir. Starting from Henry IV, what France has been pursuing is the natural border, that is to say, the west side of Ebul It is limited to the Taney Peninsula, facing the United Kingdom, and ends with the Rhône Valley and the Marseille-Toulon-Nice line in the east. The high mountain barrier of the Pyrenees separates Spain; the Alps in the east block Italy and Switzerland, and the Ru in the northeast The La Mountains, the Black Forest Mountains, and the Rhine Valley separate France and the Holy Roman Empire..."

“Not only did you do it,” said Karl XI, “you went one step further.”

"This is what all Europeans worry about, except the French," Louis said unabashedly: "Did you also think that I would get the whole of Europe?"

"Don't you want to?"

"There was an empire before, it was called Rome." Louis said, twirling the coffee cup boredly: "You have not yet thoroughly understood your country, or more correctly, mastered it, so you cannot understand - conquest and Rule is completely two different things, two completely different things. For a rational person, what can be controlled is what truly belongs to oneself. I admit that I am ambitious, but maybe it is not more ambitious than Henry IV." He hoped By Carl XI: "But maybe I'd like to see how beavers build their nests."

It's really unbelievable for a man who conquered Flanders and the Netherlands in one breath and added one-third of France's new territory to say this. Karl XI muttered in his heart for a while, but he was talking to After the eldest princess wrote a letter, she also began to actively request to study. The history of ancient Rome was a required course for all kings. Of course he also understood it - the territory of the ancient Roman Empire once spanned Europe and Asia. Such a behemoth, the emperor's will (except for the earliest Octavian) may not even be able to leave the city of Rome. Almost all territories are divided and ruled by local governors - the same is true for the current Ottoman Turkey, otherwise Leopold I would not have been so easily The Governor-General of Bosnia will sell Bosnia to Austria.

"And you," Louis asked, "tell me, where did you see it?"

Karl XI lowered his head and thought for a moment, "I think in my lifetime," he replied with a sigh: "Perhaps the greatest achievement is the re-establishment of the Kalmar Union."

What Karl XI was talking about was the union of Scandinavian countries formed at the Kalmar Conference in 1397 under the auspices of Queen Margaret of Denmark, supported by the three kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. With one ruler, Queen Margaret, this alliance lasted until 1523, when the Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa declared Swedish independence.

Speaking of which, the Swedish throne of Karl XI was inherited from the Vasa dynasty. This approach is undoubtedly anti-Vietnam. However, if Sweden can have only one voice like Louis XIV, such a goal is not impossible to achieve. Only after clarifying this point, Karl XI also understood what Louis XIV meant - all he could see was Scandinavia. During the period of Louis XIV, France at least would not expand its power further north. ——There is no possibility that they will need to be hostile to each other for decades. Then even if it is for Sweden and his own ambitions, he will stand on the same side as his wife.

"I would rather say it is for love." Karl XI raised his hands and said with his face pressed.

"Well, that thing's useless," said Louis.

——————

Just as the conversation between one king and another king comes to an end, a man suffering from love is trudging through the mire.

After Louis XIV took office, he began to build roads and bridges. As the first new territory to be incorporated into France, Lorraine was also a major producer of glass, porcelain, steel and wood, so it had wide roads and bridges from a very early time. The army that suppressed the rebellion could have followed them all the way deep into Lorraine, but the thugs in Lorraine were not fools. They destroyed a bridge and the road was interrupted. The Count of Soissons looked at the map and determined the distance downstream. There was a bridge about a mile or two from here, so we decided to go there.

Lorraine is rainy in spring, and the river is turbid and churning. After leaving the main road, the paths that hunters and villagers walk on are so-called animal paths. They are narrow, small, wet and slippery, and the vines drag their arms and feet. , it started to rain again when the sky was dark. Referring to the map and the memory of the guide, they came to a small village with only two to three hundred people.

This village didn't even have a name originally. The priests who surveyed and mapped it gave it a name called Mona, which means small.

The mayor of Mona Village is actually a relative of the guide, although it is a bit far away.

The village chief was tall, but as soon as he entered the room, he kept stooping his back, as if he was carrying a heavy stone. He looked at people from under his thick and messy eyebrows, and the villagers they had seen. Equally full of fear and panic, a pair of huge hands tightly held the decent silk blouse, as if if he didn't, someone would snatch it away.

The Earl of Soissons just asked casually. They had stayed in other villages along the way, and the people of Lorraine had the same attitude towards them - they could not be considered French after all: "How many rooms are there here?" He asked, in After getting a vague number, the count frowned. It seemed that only officers could live in the house, but soldiers also had tents. "Find a suitable place for them," he said.

The village chief pointed them to a place, which was a huge raised rock that was surprisingly flat. It was said that the villagers were drying wheat there, which was enough for the soldiers to be stationed there. As officers, Joseph and little Eugen could They stayed in the village, but the Count of Soissons asked them to see all the soldiers sleeping peacefully before leaving.

Some of the army's new tents came from the capture of the Battle of Camnico. However, after being captured, they were refurbished, dewormed and painted with waterproof coating. Each tent can accommodate ten people. The soldiers have been able to do this quickly and skillfully. The work was done, but just like that, they also delayed it until it was completely dark. When they returned to the village with their cloaks on, drank a large glass of peppered mulled wine, and prepared to fall asleep, it was only three or four days before dawn. hours.

Perhaps because he was too tired, little Eugen couldn't sleep. He lay on the bed, looking at the darkness in front of him, calculating where the eldest princess had arrived...

Then he heard someone opening the door and walking in.

Completed addition, 7,000 words. Ah, less than 8,000, because it’s not too long. Happy holidays.